Post Session: Quick Review

Bulls held a tight grip over the Dalal Street on Tuesday, with both Sensex and Nifty ending with strong gains. After a positive start of the day, key indices remained higher for the whole day, after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the momentum of reforms will continue in the future as well to make India an attractive investment destination. According to a press statement from the Ministry of Finance, several measures are being taken up to keep the reforms impetus intact such as professionalisation of the financial sector and thrust on disinvestments. Sentiments were also positive, as the chief economic adviser (CEA) -- Krishnamurthy Subramanian has said India is likely to report a current account surplus at the end of the current financial year ending in March 2021, mainly led by a fall in imports.

Markets extended their gains in the second half of the session, as sentiments remained upbeat after Care rating in its latest report has said that the Indian economy is expected to throw up better numbers in the September quarter (Q2) with GDP contraction of 9.9 per cent, as against 24 per cent in Q1 at the onset of the pandemic. In the first contraction since 1980, the economy shrank a full 23.9 per cent in the first quarter of the fiscal after the whole nation was put under a strict lockdown. The street overlooked S&P Global Ratings’ statement that the recommendations made by the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) working group on allowing corporate ownership in banks given India's weak corporate governance amid large corporate defaults over the past few years pose a potential risk.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher amid growing optimism that another effective coronavirus vaccine has been discovered, and on news that the Trump administration has accepted President-elect Joe Biden's transition into office. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday, after Singapore's consumer prices declined in October. The data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed that the consumer price index fell 0.2 percent year-on-year in October, after remaining unchanged in September. This latest consumer prices outcome was largely due to a sharper decline in private transport costs. MAS core CPI, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport, fell 0.2 percent annually in October, following a 0.1 percent decrease in the preceding month.

The BSE Sensex ended at 44523.02, up by 445.87 points or 1.01% after trading in a range of 44247.12 and 44601.63. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.58%, while Small cap index was up by 0.89%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 2.37%, Auto up by 1.84%, Realty up by 1.78%, Metal up by 1.37% and Consumer Discretionary up by 1.08%, while Telecom down by 0.23% was the only losing index on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 4.02%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.47%, HDFC Bank up by 3.14%, ITC up by 2.44% and SBI up by 2.16%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 1.47%, Titan Co down by 1.36%, Nestle down by 0.63%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.61% and ONGC down by 0.59% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, with an aim to make India an attractive investment destination, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the momentum of reforms will continue in the future as well. She also said ‘All enterprises, MNCs and India Inc., big, medium and small enterprises, are facing a reset exercise in doing business. We will have to make sure that policies are right to make India an attractive investment destination.’

While talking about initiatives, the Finance Minister said that the reforms announced by the government under the ambit of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package have opened up many sectors including niche sectors such as Nuclear Energy and Space for the foreign investors to partake in. Moreover, it needs to be kept in mind that the underlying tenet of the marquee package is not about excluding India from the globe, but making it an integral part of the global value chains by improving its domestic competitiveness.

Besides, Sitharaman noted that the Government has been working assiduously towards ensuring a facilitative environment for the MNCs operating out of India, adding that Prime Minister has not lost the opportunity for deep reforms, even during the coronavirus crisis and the reforms momentum would continue.

The CNX Nifty ended at 13055.15, up by 128.70 points or 1.00% after trading in a range of 12978.00 and 13079.10. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 4.56%, Axis Bank up by 4.04%, Eicher Motors up by 3.69%, Hindalco up by 3.65% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.39%. On the flip side, Titan Co down by 1.52%, HDFC down by 1.47%, BPCL down by 1.19%, Shree Cement down by 0.91% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.63% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 40.63 points or 0.64% to 6,374.47, France’s CAC increased 49.69 points or 0.9% to 5,541.84 and Germany’s DAX was up by 94.54 points or 0.72% to 13,221.51.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday on expectations of a global economic recovery amid progress in Covid-19 vaccine development, while a formal transition approval for US President-elect Joe Biden also lifted sentiment. AstraZeneca announced its vaccine candidate being developed in collaboration with Oxford University had an average efficacy of 70 percent. Japanese shares climbed as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend. Further, the Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda reiterated the central bank’s readiness to implement additional easing measures if needed, too supported market sentiment. Meanwhile, Consumer confidence in South Korea strengthened in November, the latest survey from the Bank of Korea showed with a Composite Consumer Sentiment Index score of 97.9 up from 91.6 in October. Though, Chinese shares declined after foreign policy specialists have said they expect Sino-US tensions to continue under the Biden presidency. A Chinese government advisor recently said that the US President-elect Joe Biden is certainly a very weak President and he could start a war with China.